Out Our Way: Along the Covenant Trail with Goliath

Out our way, the first of the Alberta Clippers hit and hit hard last week. Even old Goliath found the 12 inches of snow that fell, not to mention the trees destroyed and the power outages that hit the community, a problem.

Well, to be fair, the electrical power failure wasn't that bad for him, he has batteries for his radio.

Now, big snow storms are never convenient - and although the moisture was welcome and the fires are surely totally out now - the reality is that most of us weren't prepared. Goliath reminds me that the big storms in February are almost always when the herds are calving, and every farmer and rancher knows how inconvenient it is to have to pull a calf at 3 a.m. when it's 30 below outside. But at least that is expected, and to some extent prepared for.

But this storm - wow. Even Goliath, who was growing a pretty thick coat this early fall, was surprised. And so were the folks who look forward to the annual Super Spudfest and Bazaar at the Presbyterian Church. The storm forced the folks to postpone it to this coming Sunday.

Yet, despite the fact so much work and planning had been done and now has to be redone in preparation for the Spudfest, I note how cheerful the folks are that are doing it.

It is a huge amount of work, and like many small congregations, every penny is critical to both the ongoing mission giving to local groups like the Havre Food Bank, Salvation Army and Feed My Sheep Soup Kitchen, but also to the very survival on the congregation. It is sad to see sister congregations closing their doors for the last time because they simply cannot maintain the ministry. Such is the reality of our times.

But I am reminded of a Methodist congregation in rural Indiana whose building was totally destroyed by a tornado. When the governor of the state came to view the damage and commented how sorry he was that their church was destroyed, one of the Church members said, "Mitch, the Church is just fine! That's the Church sitting in the parking lot on folding chairs still worshipping and praising God. Its only the building that was destroyed."

Sometimes, it takes a disaster to wake us up to reality that the Church is the people - and the people of God are not easily discouraged or defeated. Be it singing hymns in the parking lot or postponing the Church Bazaar to a different time and day, the people of God show the same tough resolve to do the work God has given them. Prayer, worship, mission, and yes, serving spuds to raise money for ministry. I will be standing along side these great Saints of God doing my part in serving spuds Sunday. Hope to see you there.

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John Bruington and Goliath have dug out of the snow drifts and are deeply impressed by the whole community pulling together as usual in making Havre the beautiful heart of the Hi-Line again.